He prosecuted ‘Prince of Pot:’ Now wants to legalize pot

Then-U.S. Attorney John McKay brought charges that put Vancouver, B.C., based “Prince of Pot” Marc Emery behind bars for selling marijuana seeds advertised by catalog to customers in the United States.

On Wednesday, McKay sat beside wife Jodie Emery at a Stop Violence B.C. press conference to call for legalization of cannabis. McKay has championed Initiative 502, which would put marijuana under state regulation, which is on Washington’s November ballot.

“I want to say this just as clearly and forthrightly as I can: Marijuana prohibition, criminal prohibition of marijuana is a complete failure,” McKay said.

Law enforcement officials, on both sides of the border, have become convinced that the illegal sale of marijuana enriches organized crime — Mexican cartels, plus Asian and biker gangs in British Columbia — and makes possible a pot-for-crack, pot-for-guns two-way trade.

“Gangs affiliated with dangerous drug cartels are distributing marijuana grown in British Columbia — it’s being exchanged for guns and cocaine that comes up here,” McKay said.

“So, the negative impact of that is more than just proceeds going to Mexican drug cartels, but also what’s coming back to Canada because of this production.”

Five present and former Vancouver mayors, representing all corners of Canada’s political spectrum, have called for removing criminal penalties for possession of pot. So have former British Columbia attorneys general, including ex-B.C. Premier (and Canadian health minister) Ujjal Dosanjh.

As in the U.S., however, Canada has federal laws against possession of marijuana.

The Conservative Party government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently strengthened penalties. The possession of six marijuana plants, for purposes of trafficking, now merits a six-month sentence.

Yet “B.C. Bud” has become the province’s largest agricultural crop and gang conflicts have produced the province’s highest profile murders.

In Colombia for the Summit of the Americas last weekend, Prime Minister Harper conceded that “the current approach is not working but it is not clear what we should do.”

Geoff Plant, a former B.C. attorney general, joined McKay at the news conference and lamented:

“The status quo always has a huge amount of inertia attached to it, even when the status quo is a failed public policy, and so you’ve got to mobilize to create the movement to change.”